U.S. patent application number 12/160173 was filed with the patent office on 2009-03-12 for fluid product dispensing member and dispenser comprising same.
This patent application is currently assigned to AIRLESSYSTEMS. Invention is credited to Laurent Decottignies.
Application Number | 20090065531 12/160173 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37685761 |
Filed Date | 2009-03-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090065531 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Decottignies; Laurent |
March 12, 2009 |
FLUID PRODUCT DISPENSING MEMBER AND DISPENSER COMPRISING SAME
Abstract
A fluid dispenser member (1) for associating with a fluid
reservoir (2) so as to form a fluid dispenser, said member (1)
including a body (11) via which the dispenser member is mounted in
stationary manner on a mounting part (3), the body (11) defining a
housing (113) for receiving another component element (13) of the
dispenser member, the member being characterized in that the
housing (113) includes a movable portion (115) that is displaceable
from an initial configuration in which the housing is open, to a
final configuration in which the housing is closed on the component
element (13) while the dispenser member (1) is being mounted in the
mounting part (3).
Inventors: |
Decottignies; Laurent;
(Cergy, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE MION, PLLC
2100 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
AIRLESSYSTEMS
Charleval
FR
|
Family ID: |
37685761 |
Appl. No.: |
12/160173 |
Filed: |
May 3, 2007 |
PCT Filed: |
May 3, 2007 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR2007/051206 |
371 Date: |
October 22, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/207 ;
222/256 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B05B 11/00416 20180801;
B65D 83/0033 20130101; B05B 11/3028 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
222/207 ;
222/256 |
International
Class: |
B65D 37/00 20060101
B65D037/00; G01F 11/00 20060101 G01F011/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 5, 2006 |
FR |
0651621 |
Claims
1. A fluid dispenser member (1) for associating with a fluid
reservoir (2) so as to form a fluid dispenser, said member (1)
including a body (11) via which the dispenser member is mounted in
stationary manner on a mounting part (3), the body (11) defining a
housing (113) for receiving another component element (13) of the
dispenser member, the member being characterized in that the
housing (113) includes a movable portion (115) that is displaceable
from an initial configuration in which the housing is open, to a
final configuration in which the housing is closed on the component
element (13) while the dispenser member (1) is being mounted in the
mounting part (3).
2. A dispenser member according to claim 1, in which the movable
portion of the housing (113) comprises an outer peripheral collar
(115) that is deformable radially inwards against said component
element (13) so as to block it firmly in the housing (113).
3. A dispenser member according to claim 2, in which the collar
(115) is continuous over its periphery.
4. A dispenser member according to claim 2, in which the collar is
slotted (116) over its periphery.
5. A dispenser member according to claim 1, in which said component
element (13) co-operates with the body (11) to form a fluid
dispenser chamber (10).
6. A dispenser member according to claim 5, in which said component
element forms an elastically-deformable membrane (132) that is
provided with an anchor heel (131) that is engaged in leaktight
manner in the housing (113), the movement of the movable portion
(115) compressing the heel (131) in its housing (113).
7. A fluid dispenser comprising a fluid dispenser member (1)
according to claim 1, and a fluid reservoir (2).
8. A fluid dispenser according to claim 7, in which the mounting
part is the reservoir.
9. A fluid dispenser according to claim 7, in which the mounting
part is an adapter dish (3) that is received on the reservoir (2),
the dish (3) including a ring (35) in which the body (11) of the
dispenser member (1) is mounted, the movable portion (115) being
moved into its final configuration while it is being engaged in the
ring (35).
10. A fluid dispenser according to claim 7, in which the reservoir
(2) comprises a cylinder (22) and a follower piston (23) that is
engaged to slide in the cylinder in sealed manner, and the
dispenser member (1) is an airless pump.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser member,
e.g. of the pump or valve type, for associating with a fluid
reservoir, thereby forming a fluid dispenser. In addition, the
present invention also relates to such a fluid dispenser. This type
of dispenser member and dispenser finds an advantageous, but not
exclusive, application in the fields of perfumery, cosmetics, or
even pharmacy.
[0002] There exist numerous types of fluid dispenser member that
enable fluid to be dispensed from a fluid reservoir. Amongst such
dispenser members, mention can be made, in particular, of pumps and
valves that are active members, as opposed to passive dispenser
members in the form of simple dispenser orifices that are closable
by means of an outlet valve or a stopper. Usually, the dispenser
member includes a body via which the dispenser member is mounted in
stationary manner on a mounting part of the dispenser, which can be
the reservoir proper, or it can be an intermediate element that is
mounted on the reservoir and receives the dispenser member. It is
also possible to imagine a plurality of intermediate elements
connecting the dispenser member to the reservoir. In any event, the
body must always be mounted on some form of mounting part. In
general, the body serves to support other component elements of the
dispenser member. For a pump, the body also serves to support the
inlet valve, and, in co-operation with a piston, also defines a
pump chamber of variable volume. The pump or dispenser chamber
communicates with the reservoir by means of the inlet valve, and
advantageously communicates with the outside through an outlet
valve.
[0003] In entirely conventional manner, mounting the dispenser
member on the mounting part merely has the function of holding the
dispenser member in firm and leaktight manner, so as to constitute
a dispenser that is strong and leaktight.
[0004] In other words, mounting the dispenser member on the
mounting part does not influence the assembly of the various
component elements of the dispenser member. For example, when the
body defines a housing for receiving another component element of
the dispenser member, fastening or sealing the component element in
the housing of the body is not in any way dependent on mounting the
dispenser member on the mounting part.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to use the operation
of mounting the dispenser member on the mounting part to influence
the assembly or the co-operation of the various component elements
of the dispenser member. Mounting the dispenser member on the
mounting part should be capable of improving the fastening and/or
the sealing of a component element of the dispenser member on its
body.
[0006] To achieve this object, the present invention proposes a
fluid dispenser member for associating with a fluid reservoir so as
to form a fluid dispenser, said member including a body via which
the dispenser member is mounted in stationary manner on a mounting
part, the body defining a housing for receiving another component
element of the dispenser member, the member being characterized in
that the housing includes a movable portion that is displaceable
from an initial configuration in which the housing is open, to a
final configuration in which the housing is closed on the component
element while the dispenser member is being mounted in the mounting
part. Consequently, before being mounted on the mounting part, the
dispenser member is not in its final assembled configuration, which
is reached only when said dispenser member is mounted in permanent
manner on the mounting part. In other words, the mounting part is
used to terminate or complete the assembly of the dispenser member.
The mounting part thus serves as constraining or urging means that
make it possible to bring the dispenser member into is final
assembled configuration. Instead of closing a housing, it is quite
possible to imagine that the mounting part urges a portion of the
body or a portion of a component element to come into engagement
with another component element of the dispenser member. The
mounting part thus makes it possible to bring the dispenser member
into a final assembled configuration from a non-definitive
pre-mounted or pre-assembled configuration.
[0007] In an advantageous embodiment, the movable portion of the
housing may comprise an outer peripheral collar that is deformable
radially inwards against said component element so as to block it
firmly in the housing. The collar is advantageously continuous over
its periphery. In a variant, the collar is slotted over its
periphery. The collar is thus inserted, engaged, or interfitted
into the mounting part that surrounds the collar closely and
deforms or moves it radially inwards. The mounting part thus acts
as a hoop that surrounds the collar closely and urges it
inwards.
[0008] In an advantageous embodiment, said component element
co-operates with the body to form a fluid dispenser chamber.
Advantageously, said component element forms an
elastically-deformable membrane that is provided with an anchor
heel that is engaged in leaktight manner in the housing, the
movement of the movable portion compressing the heel in its
housing. Before mounting the dispenser member on its mounting part,
the heel of the deformable membrane is pre-mounted in the housing,
and is held inside said housing in manner that is sufficient to
enable the dispenser member to be manipulated, stored, and fitted
on its mounting part. Closing the housing by moving the movable
portion not only finishes off fastening the heel in the housing,
but also guarantees good sealing of the dispenser chamber where the
heel meets the body. Any risk of fluid leaking from the pump
chamber at this point is thus avoided.
[0009] The present invention also provides a fluid dispenser
comprising a fluid dispenser member as defined above, and a fluid
reservoir. In one possible embodiment the mounting part is the
reservoir. In a preferred variant, the mounting part is an adapter
dish that is received on the reservoir, the dish including a ring
in which the body of the dispenser member is mounted, the movable
portion being moved into its final configuration while it is being
engaged in the ring. The adapter dish serves as a connection part
between the dispenser member and the reservoir. It advantageously
makes it possible to mount a standard dispenser member on several
versions of reservoir by modifying only the adapter dish. The ring
of the dish remains identical, given that the dispenser member is
standard. However, the shape, the size, and the configuration of
the dish can be modified as a function of the type of reservoir on
which the standard dispenser member is to be mounted.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the reservoir comprises a
cylinder and a follower piston that is engaged to slide in the
cylinder in sealed manner, and the dispenser member is a so-called
airless pump.
[0011] The invention is described more fully below with reference
to the accompanying drawing which shows an embodiment of the
invention by way of non-limiting example.
[0012] In the figures:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a vertical section view through a fluid dispenser
constituting an embodiment of the invention; and
[0014] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section view of the FIG. 1 dispenser
member just before it is mounted on the adapter dish.
[0015] In the figures, the dispenser member selected to illustrate
the present invention is an airless pump. However, it is possible
to use any other type of pump, or any other type of dispenser
member, e.g. a valve, without thereby going beyond the ambit of the
present invention.
[0016] In FIG. 1, the pump 1 is associated with an adapter dish 3,
a reservoir 2, a pusher 4, and a cap 5 in order to form a fluid
dispenser. The cap 5 is optional.
[0017] In the non-limiting embodiment in FIG. 1, the reservoir 2 is
a variable-volume reservoir. More particularly, the reservoir 2
comprises a substantially-cylindrical cylinder 22 inside which a
follower piston 23 is slidably mounted in leaktight manner.
Initially, the follower piston 23 is situated in the proximity of
the open bottom of the cylinder 22. In this configuration, the
reservoir defines a maximum working volume 20 that decreases as the
follower piston 23 rises inside the cylinder 22. The reservoir also
defines a neck 21 that, in this embodiment, extends upwards in
register with the cylinder 22. The neck 21 presents means that
enable the dish 3 to be fastened in stable and leaktight manner on
the reservoir. In this embodiment, the neck 21 internally defines
one or more fastener profiles in the form of grooves and/or
ribs.
[0018] The adapter dish 3 is a mounting part that enables the pump
1 to be mounted in stationary manner on the reservoir 2. The pump 1
is not mounted directly onto the reservoir 2, although this is
entirely possible. In that event, the dispenser would not include
an adapter dish, since the reservoir itself would constitute the
mounting part on which the pump is mounted. However, in the FIG. 1
embodiment, the pump 1 is mounted on the adapter dish 3 that is
itself mounted on the reservoir 2. More precisely, the dish 3
includes a fastener section that is engaged inside the neck 21. The
fastener section 31 can be formed with one or more fastener
profiles that are complementary to those of the neck 21. Above the
section 31, the dish 3 forms a peripheral flange 32 that projects
radially outwards and that is for coming to bear against the top
edge of the neck 21. Beyond the flange 32, the dish forms a rim 33
for removably snap-fastening the cap 5 that can come to bear
against the flange 32. The dish 3 extends downwards from the
fastener section 31 so as to form a substantially-radial section 34
that is extended inwards by a mounting ring 35 that is
substantially cylindrical. The ring 35 is upwardly open and is
closed a little towards the bottom by a peripheral shoulder 36 that
projects substantially radially inwards. The shoulder 36 can extend
in register with the flange 34. Thus, the ring and the shoulder 36
co-operate with each other to form a mounting housing 37 that is
axially accessible from above. When the dish 3 is mounted on the
reservoir 2, the major fraction of the dish is situated inside the
reservoir 2, with only the peripheral flange 32 and the rim 33
projecting out from the reservoir.
[0019] In this embodiment, the pump 1 comprises four main component
elements, namely: a body 11; an inlet valve member 12; a flexible
part 13; and an outlet-valve movable member 14. Naturally, the pump
could comprise fewer parts, or, on the contrary, could comprise
more parts, without thereby going beyond the ambit of the
invention.
[0020] The body 11 of the pump is the part that serves to support
other component elements of the pump, such as the flexible part 13
and the valve member 12. The body 11 is also the part that is
mounted directly on the adapter dish 3 in its mounting housing 37.
More precisely, the body 11 is inserted into the ring 35 until it
comes into abutment against the shoulder 36.
[0021] The body 11 defines a fluid inlet 110 that, in this
embodiment, is in the form of a plurality of inlet holes. Over the
periphery of the holes, the body defines an inlet-valve seat 112.
The seat 112 is for co-operating with a movable inlet-valve member
122 that is formed by the inlet-valve element 12. The movable
member 122 can be in the form of a disk or a washer that is axially
movable or deformable. In order to hold the valve element 12 in
place, the body 11 forms a central chimney 111 in which the inlet
valve element 12 is held captive. However, it can move over a small
stroke enabling the movable member 122 to move relative to its seat
112. Over its outer periphery, the body 11 forms a housing 113 for
holding and fastening an anchor heel 131, as described below. The
housing 113 comprises a stationary inside wall 114 and a movable
outside wall or portion 115. Moving the movable portion 115
radially inwards enables the housing 113 to close in on itself. In
this embodiment, the movable portion 115 is formed by an outer
peripheral collar that surrounds the stationary inside wall 114 in
coaxial manner. The housing 113 is thus defined by an annular gap
that is defined between the inside wall 114 and the deformable
outer peripheral collar 115.
[0022] In the invention, it is the engagement of the body 11 in the
mounting housing 37 that enables the collar 115 to be deformed
inwards so as to close the housing 113. With reference to FIG. 2,
it can be seen that, before being mounted inside the ring 35, the
collar 115 flares outwards and upwards. Its maximum outside
diameter is greater than the inside diameter of the ring 35. As a
result, by engaging the collar 115 in the ring 35, the collar 115
is constrained to deform radially inwards, closing the housing 113
in on itself, thereby holding the anchor heel 131 permanently
captive. The collar 115 can be continuous over its periphery, or in
a variant, as shown in FIG. 2, the collar can be interrupted by
slots 117 that thus divide the collar into a plurality of tabs or
tongues. Regardless of whether the collar is continuous or slotted,
it can be provided internally with a projecting bead 116 that
enables the housing 113 to be closed more firmly. The bead 16
becomes engaged just above the top edge of the anchor heel 131.
From FIG. 2, it can easily be understood that the collar 115
progressively deforms radially inwards against the anchor heel 131
as the pump 1 is inserted into the ring 35. Finally, the bottom end
of the collar 115 comes into abutment against the shoulder 36, as
shown in FIG. 1. It can thus be said that the pump 1, as shown in
part in FIG. 2, is in an initial pre-mounted or pre-assembled
configuration in which, although the anchor heel 131 is indeed
inserted in the housing 113, the housing 113 is not yet in its
final mounted configuration. It is only after mounting the pump in
the adapter dish 3 that the housing reaches its final mounted
configuration.
[0023] In this embodiment, the ring 35 is cylindrical, but it is
possible to imagine other configurations for the ring, e.g.
frustoconical or profiled.
[0024] The flexible part 13 is preferably made as a single part
from a plastics material that is relatively flexible, when it
presents wall thicknesses that are small. The flexible part 13 thus
comprises: an anchor heel 131 that is engaged in the housing 113;
an elastically-deformable membrane 132; a rigid plate 133 that
internally defines a closure seat 134; and a rigid bushing 135
that, at its top end, defines an outlet-valve seat 136. The
elastically-deformable membrane 132 co-operates with the body 1 to
define a pump chamber 10 of volume that varies by deforming the
membrane. The membrane 132 thus serves both as a piston and as a
return spring. It is its shape memory that enable it to return
elastically to its initial rest configuration. In the rest
configuration as shown in FIG. 1, the seat 134 of the plate 133 is
engaged with a closure element 124 that is formed integrally with
the inlet-valve member 12. It should also be observed that the
closure element 124, engaged on its seat 134, lifts the movable
member 122 of the inlet valve off its seat 112. Thus, in the rest
position, the inlet valve is open and communicates with the
reservoir 2. In contrast, the chamber 10 is closed at the closure
element 124 that bears against its seat 134. This position exists
only while the flexible membrane 132 is at rest. In contrast, once
the flexible membrane is deformed, the movable member 122 comes to
press against its seat 112 and the closure element 124 lifts off
its seat 134. The chamber 10 is thus isolated from the reservoir 2
by the closed inlet valve, but can communicate upwards with the
inside of the rigid bushing 134. The fluid that is forced out of
the chamber 10 thus comes into contact with the movable member 14
of the outlet valve that is adapted to come into leaktight contact
against its seat 136 formed at the top end of the rigid bushing
135. As a result of its pressure, the fluid lifts the movable
member 14, thereby creating a flow passage.
[0025] In conventional manner, the pusher 4 comprises: a connection
sleeve 41; an outlet channel 43; a dispenser orifice 44; and a
thrust surface 45. The connection sleeve 41 is engaged in
stationary manner around the rigid bushing 134. The sleeve 41
internally defines a duct 42 that communicates with the outlet
channel 43 that opens out to the outside at the dispenser orifice
44. The bearing surface 45 enables the user to press one or more
fingers axially on the pusher, so as to deform the
elastically-deformable membrane 132. Fluid is thus dispensed at the
dispenser orifice 44. The pusher 4 can also define an outer
peripheral skirt 46 that can move inside the adapter dish 3.
[0026] Mounting the pump in the adapter dish 3 thus makes it
possible to hold the anchor heel 131 in the housing 113 in
stationary and leaktight manner. However, in the context of the
present invention, it is possible to imagine that mounting the pump
in the dish has an influence on some other element of the pump so
as to generate or improve any technical effect.
[0027] In FIG. 2, it can be seen that the pump is engaged in the
housing 37 of the adapter dish from above. Without going beyond the
ambit of the present invention, it is also possible to engage the
pump in the housing of the dish from below. This would require a
small modification to the housing, namely replacing the shoulder 36
with an insertion cone so as to enable the collar to be engaged in
the housing. A final snap-fastening could be provided.
[0028] Although the present invention is described with reference
to a pump including an elastically-deformable membrane, the
teaching of the present invention can be applied to any type of
pump, or more generally to any type of fluid dispenser member. In
addition, the adapter dish 3 that constitutes a mounting part can
very well be omitted, such that the pump 1 is mounted directly in
the reservoir 2.
* * * * *